The number of cases pending in immigration court surpassed the 3 million barrier, setting a historic record showing the decline of the US immigration system.
The latest data compiled by the Transaction Records Information and Access Center (TRAC) at Syracuse University reveals that as of November 30, the number of pending cases stood at 3,075,248.
“Just 12 months ago, in November 2022, the arrears stood at 2 million,” the report said. “That means the backlog of cases has increased by a million in the last 12 months,” he says.
When President Joe Biden came to the White House in January 2021, the Office of Immigration Investigations (EOIR) accumulated about 1.2 million cases. In January 2017, when Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States, around 520,000 files were pending.
About 130,000 cases per month
TRAC reports that in the last quarter from July to September 2023 alone, the backlog of cases “increased by nearly 400,000,” an average increase of “130,000 files per month.”
“In October and November 2023, the monthly growth was even higher,” he warns, highlighting the exhaustion of the system’s response capacity to attend, review and decide mainly on asylum cases.
The Center further points out that previous administrations—at least the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009)—have failed to address the seemingly intractable problem of the EOIR backlog.
Traffic congestion in numbers
According to the study, the immigration court records the following traffic jams:
- Sep. 2016: 516,031 Accumulated cases
- December 2016: 533,909 Accumulated cases
- March 2017: 572,608 Accumulated cases
- June 2017: 610,524 Accumulated cases
- Sep. 2017: 629,051 Accumulated cases
- December 2017: 667,839 Accumulated cases
- March 2018: 692,298 Accumulated cases
- June 2018: 733,365 Accumulated cases
- Sep. 2018: 768,257 Accumulated cases
- December 2018: 819,325 Accumulated cases
- March 2019: 869,013 Accumulated cases
- June 2019: 945,711 Accumulated cases
- Sep. 2019: 1,023,767 Accumulated cases
- December 2019: 1,989,696 Accumulated cases
- March 2020: 1,129,890 Accumulated cases
- June 2020: 1,218,737 Accumulated cases
- September 2020: 1,262,765 Accumulated cases
- December 2020: 1,290,766 Accumulated cases
- March 2021: 1,308,327 Accumulated cases
- June 2021: 1,357,820 Accumulated cases
- September 2021: 1,457,615 Accumulated cases
- December 2021: 1,596.193 Accumulated cases
- March 2022: 1,755,934 Accumulated cases
- June 2022: 1,821,440 Accumulated cases
- Sep. 2022: 1,936,504 Accumulated cases
- December 2022: 2,056,328 Accumulated cases
- March 2023: 2,175,196 Accumulated cases
- June 2023: 2,401,961 Accumulated cases
- Sep. 2023: 2,794,629 Accumulated cases
- November 2023: 3,075,248 Accumulated cases
EOIR Judges
TRAC notes that the hiring of new immigration judges “accelerated during the first three years of the Biden administration” and that according to recent EOIR personnel records, “they show a total of 682 judges currently serving.”
“On an average, each judge disposed of about 975 cases during the last financial year,” the report further noted. During the Trump administration, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered judges to assign up to 700 cases a year, drawing criticism from immigrant rights groups, lawyers and the National Association of Judges. Immigration N (NAIJ) alleged that the permanent rights of thousands of foreigners were at risk due to the large number of files being processed, and that in many cases, the rush imposed by the executive did not guarantee a fair process.
TRAC notes that the current average number of cases is “almost a third higher in the last year of the Obama administration than it was seven years ago.”
Current averages per judge
Although there are more judges than in 2016 and a larger backlog of cases, the flow of cases in immigration court is increasing day by day due to new incoming cases referred by federal immigration officials at the border.
“Thus, the average caseload of the 682 sitting judges now has increased to 4,500 files per judge,” he says.
That is, the global average of cases handled in a year reaches 975. Divided equally by the number of cases assigned to each judge, it takes an average of 4.6 years to resolve each case. , a. Time to alert lawyers and organizations that protect the rights of immigrants.
“Analyzing this data, there is no doubt that the immigration system is broken,” said Jose Guerrero, an immigration attorney who practices in Miami, Florida. “Courts continue to accumulate astronomical dockets and people cannot receive legal benefits in a reasonable amount of time.”
Guerrero also said that if all the documents and files are in hand, “there is a way to speed up the processes with a petition to the court,” a probability that is not exactly guaranteed due to the existing logjam.
Asylum cases are not the only ones affected
Jaime Barron, an immigration attorney in Dallas, Texas, called the severe logjam in immigration court a “double-edged sword” for immigrants “to have a good asylum case or a good defense to avoid deportation.” Not only do they have to wait months or years for a hearing, but they spend years in agony not knowing if they will pass their trials and stay in the United States.
“The average wait due to traffic jams is very long, agonizing over 4 years,” he said.
However, Barron said the delays “help people with a weak case or lack of evidence to win a deportation hearing.” On average, they spend about 4.6 years waiting for a hearing, while many receive employment authorization after 180 days of seeking asylum.
Those that benefit from delay are “bad cases,” said immigration attorney Lilia Velasquez, an adjunct professor at the University of California, San Diego School of Law. “Those who fail and even face deportation. “They’re the only ones who are happy because the longer their cases are delayed, the longer they stay in America.”
“With accruals and delays, a just reward for sinners,” he added. “We are at the mercy of what the courts say. And cases with long waits for benefits (such as legal permanent residences and/or adjustment of status) tend to postpone hearings and delay settlements.
